DESTINED
by slytherix
Summary: [Max & Nathan] When Nathan discovers Max in the bathroom during the incident; he realises she had just become his biggest threat. Max knows it too; yet something tells her to let him know. To not rewind. Both of them learn, soon enough, that it wasn't for no apparent reason. She isn't the only one with a power, which makes Nathan only even more dangerous than he was already.
1. I: Inevitable Certainty

**INTRODUCTION**

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**This story contains spoilers from Life is Strange: Episode 1-5. You have been warned.**

**(SPOILER \- Something you would perhaps rather discover yourself instead of having it spoiled by somebody else.**** A good example would be an instance of a character dying in the last episode of the season you haven't watched yet, but found out about it by accident from somebody or somewhere.)**

**Life is Strange's age rating is M, designed for mature audiences of approximately 16 years old. Please keep that in mind before you decide to read this story. ****Personally, I recommend reading my Fan Fiction if you are at least 16 years of age. It will include content unsuitable for audiences below that age group, and by reading it, you are doing so on your own risk.**

**This is a work of Fan Fiction using characters from the Life is Strange world, which is trademarked by Square Enix. I do not claim any ownership over its world nor its characters. This story is my own invention created for entertainment purposes only.**

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**TW**

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**The Trigger Warnings for this Chapter are:**

**I. Foul Language leading to Violent Verbal Abuse. (It's Nathan Prescott, after all. There will be a _lot_ of it.)**

**II. Mention of Drugs. (Only a brief one.)**

**III. Death/Dying/Murder. (Nothing will be visually described in this Chapter.)**

**IV. Abuse/Violence/Blood. (Those scenes will not be thoroughly described or visualised, but one should still keep in mind that they are taking place in this Chapter.)**

**V. Mention/Usage of Firearms. (Nothing more intense than what takes place in the actual game.)**

**VI. Blackmail. (Large amount as it is the story's main focus at the moment.)**

* * *

**I: **_**Inevitable Certainty **_

* * *

To guess which one of the two people in the room was more stunned than the other in that particular moment, would be almost impossible; like looking for a needle in a stack of hay; or trying to understand a language foreign to the listener. Both of their facial expressions conveyed pure horror; eyes locked onto each other in a frozen from shock trance. The female did not dare speak. She was holding her breath without realising so, and therefore suddenly felt extremely lightheaded. As the male stepped forward, she finally exhaled with a soft gasp, taking a step back. His expression was sour, turned into anger, if not rage.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan Prescott finally asked, his eyebrows furrowed so aggressively that her body instinctively made her take another step backwards.

"What are _you_ doing here?" She answered back hesitantly, unable to form a responsive sentence; instead resorting to simply repeating his words. Adrenaline was pumping through her blood, yet she felt fear; the kind which made you appreciate life like you never did before.

"This isn't a _repeat-after-me _game, you dumb bitch,'' he clenched his fists with anger, heart beating so fast it brushed against his chest every other second, bringing pain, and a feeling of alarming claustrophobia.

The female lowered her eyes, noticing he still held a gun in his right hand. She opened her mouth, but thought better of it, and retreated backwards, until her back met the hard surface of the sturdy wall behind her. She had nowhere to run. He had her cornered at that very moment, leaving no route of escape.

"_Aaargh_!" The male suddenly reached for his head, leaving the brunette confused. "It's _so_ fucking _loud_," he looked behind once before shoving the firearm into his jacket. Max concluded he must've been annoyed with the fire alarm raging through the walls. "I-I I can't _think_," he added after a moment, his breath quickening with frustration. She still didn't dare to move, but realised her best chances of escaping were now that he was distracted.

"_Listen_," he finally addressed her, closing the distance between them, making the female close her eyes shut in result. "Whatever you did back there, I-"

The door suddenly burst open, causing for the male to whip his head around immediately. Max opened her eyes to look at whoever entered, with a plea for help. It was Madsen, the Blackwell security guy.

"What the-" His expression changed upon seeing the young girl being pushed against the wall by the male. They looked rather inappropriately in this situation, leaving Madsen far more angered than before. "Are you punks _deaf_?! Can't you two hear the damn fire alarm going off?" The guard raised his voice at the couple who looked as frightened as ever. Nathan instinctively reached for Max's wrist, tightening his grip around it in a threatening manner.

Max was so scared she didn't feel the resulting pain. Madsen stared at her for a longer moment. "You're as white as a junkie! Swear it, who deals you this shit?! _Huh?!_" He was getting into her face, at an uncomfortable closeness.

Nathan yanked Max to the side, manoeuvring her past the guard, towards the exit onto the hallway. "_Hey!_ I'm _not_ done talking to you!" Madsen shouted after them, following close behind. Fortunately for them or rather not, Principal Wells was standing outside, immediately noticing the three of them arguing, and decided to send the agitated guard away to turn off the alarm.

"Miss Caulfield and…" Wells scanned the female's face, then shifted his eyes to Nathan. It was visibly obvious he was surprised to see them together, and was not very happy with such outcome, yet he had managed to quickly collect himself. "Care to explain what the two of you were doing in the ladies' restroom during a fire alarm?" His question was very demanding, and targeted right at Max.

She couldn't find her words. There was sweat on her forehead.

"You look a little stressed out. Are you okay?" He asked, in a more cautious manner rather than a caring one, stepping closer to inspect the female student.

"She's _fine_," Nathan answered through his clenched teeth, pulling her closer to his side, away from the older male.

"I believe that I was asking Miss Caulfield, not you, _Mr. Prescott_," Wells delivered him a warning glare, turning once again to the female, expecting an answer, and expecting it fast.

"I-I'm fine. Just got really dizzy and... Nathan made sure that I'd be okay," Max answered quickly, almost instantly. She felt the adrenaline wearing off, and the pain in her arm felt even more severe than before. She was desperate for him to let go off her.

"There's supposed to be fire," if only looks could kill, principal Wells would be long dead. "So if you _excuse us_, we're gonna get outside," Nathan finished, and dragged the female along without awaiting further answer.

As soon as fresh air hit her face, she exhaled with relief, slumping down onto the stairs. Nathan finally released his grip on her wrist as a result.

"You were lucky you played along," Nathan commented bitterly, crossing his arms, nervously pacing around.

The atmosphere was tense. None of them spoke after that.

Weather outside was unusually nice for this time of the year, but it was the least of Max's current worries. She had saved somebody's life, for the price of being held captive by their perpetrator. She had wondered whether she, herself, was at risk, and whether her newly discovered power would protect her.

Very slowly, and very carefully, she lifted her head and moved her eyes sideways to look at Nathan, who had his back turned to her. She bit her bottom lip, calculating chances of sneaking away unnoticed.

Finally, the male turned around and leaned down in a squat, closing the space between his and Max's face. The closeness made her shiver. "You better keep your fucking mouth shut about today or I and my family will be after your ass, you understand?" His voice was a mere whisper; yet it was such a threat she knew better than to not take it seriously.

"You killed," the volume of her voice made her uncomfortable. She tried again, this time, much quieter. "You_ almost_ killed somebody today, Nathan. I don't think-_no_, I _can't_ keep quiet about this."

The answer clearly has taken him aback, and took him a good moment to recollect a somewhat-composure. He stood up, causing Max to do the same.

"Step back," she warned him shakily, with no effect.

Nathan stepped forward, forcing Max to push him down the stairs, her nails reaching his face, sinking into his skin.

She watched, frozen, as he fell onto the concrete. For a moment, he remained very still, causing Max to think he had been severely hurt by the fall.

After a couple of dragging seconds, his face scrunched into outrage. "You, are _so FUCKING DEAD_!" He shouted, shifting his body weight to his palms, using the force to rapidly hoist himself back onto his feet.

Max didn't wait around to see what happens next. She was already running in the opposite direction.

She knew he was right behind her. It was only a matter of time before he caught her.

And he did, yanking her backwards by the hood, making her lose her balance and fall backwards right into his arms. She had no time to collect herself as she was instantly shoved against something hard which knocked the air right out of her lungs. Distraught, she opened her mouth to scream, but was stopped by the tough pressure of his palm against her lips.

"Not," he hissed at her, his breath hot on her face. "A fucking chance." He reeked of cigarettes and smoke, the smell making her sick to her stomach.

They remained in the position for a longer while until Nathan stepped back abruptly. Max stared at him with her typical, hurt expression, lips slightly apart. Their eyes weren't looking away from each other for even a second.

"You're gonna forget today ever happened," he finally spoke, his tone threatening and hostile. "You never saw me in that bathroom, and will never say you did if you know what's good for you. Understood?"

Max swallowed. "And if not?"

His eyebrows furrowed, making her instantly regret her words.


	2. II: Hostage of Destiny

**TW**

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**The Trigger Warnings for this Chapter are:**

**I. Foul Language leading to Violent Verbal Abuse. (Nathan Prescott being Nathan Prescott.)**

**II. Bullying. (Nothing too severe, only a brief segment of the Chapter.)**

**III. Abuse/Violence/Blood. (This Chapter includes a fight scene that is not thoroughly detailed. It also includes some aggressive acts towards another person and a brief mention of blood.)**

**IV. Class-ism. (Only brief mention used as an insult.)**

**V. Mention of Firearms. (Not actual usage.)**

**VI. Mention of Involuntary Usage of Drugs. (Very brief.)**

**VII. Blackmail. (Large amount as it is the story's main focus at the moment.)**

* * *

**II: **_**Hostage of Destiny**_

* * *

"Well, well, well," Victoria gracefully rose from the stone stairs, crossing her arms with visible amusement painting on her face. "If it isn't Max Caulfield in the flesh," her voice circled around Max as the blonde slowly walked around the girl in an intimidating manner. "We were _just_ talking about you," she added, at which her two friends burst out laughing at some inside joke.

Max did what she did best. She bit her lip.

"Cut the shit, V," Nathan interrupted aggressively, his grip tightening around Max's left elbow in response to his building frustration. He moved to go, but Victoria stepped in his way. He looked at her, eyebrows furrowing.

"What's this, Nathan, found yourself a little girlfriend?" The blonde laughed under her breath, sending Courtney and Taylor into a wave of uncontrollable giggle. "My, your standards really must've fallen," her eyebrows furrowed in a sad manner, expressing pity.

"I don't have time for this," the male urged forward, attempting to manoeuvre past the blonde. She blocked his pathway once again, causing him to release the brunette, who immediately used the chance to slowly back away whilst the two were distracted arguing.

A bucket of fresh paint was enough to solve this problem.

Max made her way back towards the two, unnoticed, after tampering with the janitor's bucket. She had to bite her lip to prevent a smile upon seeing their reactions while being splattered with the white liquid inside of it. After composing himself, Nathan yanked Max inside, heading straight for her dorm door.

"What are you doing?" She protested, trying to get free, but to no avail. Nathan threw the door open, pushing her inside. "What–"

He slammed the door shut, then crossed his arms and stared at her. She swallowed, taking a step backwards. Nathan waited a moment before walking past her to sit on the chair near the desk.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked in a harsh manner, fed up with his behaviour.

He finally looked at her, his facial expression cold. "How much?" He asked.

Max furrowed her eyebrows in genuine confusion. "How much what?"

He exhaled with annoyance, slamming an open palm onto the desk. "_Don't_ play coy with me, Caulfield."

The brunette looked at his bleeding cheek. "Look… you're hurt, and you're covered in paint. Why won't you go clean up and _then_ we'll talk?" She asked, pleading that he agrees in hopes she meanwhile would get as far away from him as possible.

"_Ha_!" He laughed like a crow. "No _way_! You think I'm stupid, or what?" He stood up, shrugging the jacket off his arms. "So you can snitch on me while I'm gone? Good one, Caulfield."

"That's not what I meant…"

He threw the jacket at her, but she didn't catch it. He walked to the mirror, investigating the damage to his face. "Fuck," he swore under his breath.

Max hugged her elbow, unsure what to do. After a moment, she walked towards her desk and opened one of the drawers. "Here," she grabbed a bottle of wound disinfectant and a clean pack of cotton balls. He turned around and scoffed before walking up and practically yanking the items from her hands.

The brunette looked at the chair he was sitting on just a moment ago. It was now partly smeared with white liquid, which made her exhale. "Oh, man…" She whispered, turning to look at the boy again. It didn't look like he would be gone soon, so she crossed her arms, leaning against the clean part of her desk.

She reached for her bag, discreetly opening it. Without lifting her eyes from the male, she grabbed her phone from inside.

"I should fucking sue your dumb ass for this," he muttered, throwing the bottle onto her bed without care. Max followed its movements as it landed, quickly shoving her phone into her back jean pocket.

"Go ahead. Also don't forget to mention that you almost shot someone today," Max answered back with anger, meeting his challenging stare. All of the fear she had felt towards him, has turned into pure anger.

"I thought we went over this already," he clenched his fists, his muscular jaw tensing. "How much you want for keeping your mouth shut?"

She suddenly realised what he was asking her for. Enraged, she straightened up. "You can't _buy_ me with money, you ass!" The female raised her voice, feeling blood rushing to her head.

"Ha!" He laughed again, this time through frustration. Nathan closed the space between them within a second, pointing his index finger at her face. "I can buy _everyone_, and _especially_ your broke ass."

Max steadied herself for rewinding if needed, then very carefully chose her words. "That's where you're wrong, Nathan. I don't want - _or need_ \- your money. I just want justice to be done."

The tension between them was thicker than ever before. When he made another step forward, Max extended her right hand, ready to rewind. He instinctively grabbed it before she had the chance to do so.

"_I know_ your secret, Caulfield," he said in the calmest tone she could imagine him using. He was looking into her eyes with something dangerous written across his face. "_I know_ what you did in that bathroom," Nathan added, causing for the female's throat to tighten. Thinking alone about what took place there was enough to make her shudder.

"You saw what I'm capable of," there was a slight shaking in his voice, as well as in his grip on her wrist. "And believe me when I say it," Nathan released her, "You _don't want_ to mess with me."

They both stared at each other with hatred.

"I'm not done with you, and I _will_ be watching you. If even the smallest word gets out of your mouth, then you'll end up as that blue-haired bitch punk, you hear me? There'll be nobody to help you like you helped her today. Do you fucking understand?"

"Oh, I _understand_," she answered through anger, staring at him as he left the room with a slam of the door.

She looked at the floor.

His jacket laid there, dishevelled.

His jacket, with a gun inside its pocket.

* * *

Meeting Warren definitely wasn't easy for her after today's events. Yet it was somewhat comforting; after all, he was her only friend.

"I had this incredibly strange bizarro in Mr. Jefferson's class, and then Nathan Prescott–"

"Uh-oh," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Every time someone mentions the dude's name, he just appears out of thin air, y'know?"

Alarmed, she looked up to find Nathan Prescott headed towards them, an extremely unpleasant expression on his face.

"Major Voldemort vibes, don't ya think?'' Warren joked, crossing his arms, oblivious to the threat he could pose for them. On that thought, Max nearly opened her mouth to tell him to run, but then remembered his gun was still in her room, safe from his reach, and they were in a public space. He couldn't do anything to her even if he wanted. He wouldn't dare.

Max hoped so.

"Caulfield!" Nathan shouted, quickly closing the distance between them. He had changed clothes, and his cheek was redder than before.

"Let's go, Warren," she turned to move, but Nathan grabbed her elbow.

"Damn right _he_ should," he pushed Warren out of the way, releasing Max knowing she wasn't going anywhere, and if she was, she was still within his reach distance.

"Stop it," she commanded.

"And who are _you_ to tell _me_ what to do, huh?" His attention focused on the female, his body tensed, ready for action.

"What do you _want_?" Max asked, inpatient, standing her ground. She felt braver with Warren around.

"My phone," he hissed angrily.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, _I_ don't have it."

"Don't provoke me, whore."

"Don't call her that, dude!" Warren cut in, causing Nathan to headbutt him out of the way. Max shrieked in surprise.

His attention turned back to her once again. "Hand it over. NOW!"

She began to back away, looking from Warren, hurt on the concrete, to Nathan, who was getting right in her face.

"NOW!" He repeated, catching her shoulders in frustration.

"You left your jacket at my place, you jackass!" Her hands landed on his chest, pushing his body away. "I haven't taken it! Go look for it yourself!"

Within a second, Nathan yanked the strap of her bag, causing it to snap and spill its contents onto the ground before him. He reached for the keys to her room, but was violently shoved to the ground by Warren.

* * *

Her eyes were practically glued to the floor as she made her way through the hallway. Her head was pounding, and she was beyond exhausted. She wanted - _no_, needed to rest.

Max noticed somebody's shoes guarding the entrance to her room. Instantly recognising them, she raised her eyes to see Nathan, his back against her door.

"No fucking _way_," she shook her head with disbelief, exhaling tiredly as she crossed her arms. She was more annoyed than scared of his presence.

"My jacket," is all he said.

Max reached for her keys and went inside, moving out of his way. His jacket laid on the same spot on the floor as before; she didn't dare to touch it, or rather, didn't want to.

Nathan came in and reached for it, checking the pockets. He couldn't find what he was looking for, which was revealed by the frustration in his eyes.

"My phone," he hissed, throwing his head to look at the female. "Where is it?"

Max looked at him blankly.

Nathan stared back, gathering every ounce of his willpower to not scream. He squatted down, scanning the floor with his eyes. She did the same, hoping he would leave as soon as possible.

The brunette looked under the bed, and surprisingly, found what they were looking for. She reached for the phone, but hesitated.

It was obviously important to him. She was sure it had Chloe's pictures in there. Max could keep it and then bring it to the police.

"What are you doing?" Nathan's voice brought her back to reality.

She tightened her grip on the phone, and slowly sat up to face him. He noticed his phone in her hand, and instantly grabbed it, but Max didn't let go. He stared at her in anger.

"Leave me alone," she finally said, taking him aback. "You tried to shoot Chloe, and I know why."

Her words hit him like a slap. His hand remained on top of hers as an attempt to retrieve his phone, but he was now completely frozen in place.

"I can easily go to the Principal, or the police, and tell them everything. They'll find your gun and proof of you drugging Chloe before you threatened her. It's over for you, Nathan. So _don't you dare threaten me ever again_."

She pushed the phone into his hand and stood up to open the door for him.


	3. III: Improbable Trigger

**TW**

* * *

**The Trigger Warnings for this Chapter are:**

**I. Foul Language. (Only a small portion in this Chapter! **_That's strange..._**)**

**II. Mention of Involuntary Usage of Drugs. (This Chapter will have quite a lot of it.)**

**III. Mental Health Illness/Bullying leading to Suicide. (Kate's suicide attempt in Episode 2 will be the main focus of this Chapter.)**

* * *

**III: **_**Improbable Trigger**_

* * *

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply through her mouth. The sun cast warmth on her face as she slowly made her way through the campus towards the bus stop. She couldn't help but notice Nathan and Madsen arguing nearby. Slowing the pace at which she walked, she observed them cautiously. Nathan suddenly turned his back on the man, angrily walking away towards her direction. Max tightened the grip of her hand on the strap of her bag which she temporarily managed to secure with a couple of pins.

"This conversation _ain't_ over yet, Prescott!" Madsen shouted at the male who was closing the space between them with each agitated step.

Max stopped in her track. She looked at Nathan, who walked right past her without a word. She turned around, observing him, then bit her lip and followed him onto the parking lot.

Nathan headed towards his red SUV, visibly outraged by his conversation with the guard. He finally noticed Max as he was opening the door. She jogged towards the passenger seat, getting in without thinking.

He stared at her with his eyebrows furrowed. "_What the fuck_ could you possibly want _now_?"

Her heart was beating like crazy. Truth be told, she had no idea what her intentions were here.

"I know what you did to Kate."

She couldn't believe she said that. She extended her right hand to rewind, but hesitated once seeing his expression.

He stared at her for a longer moment, long enough for her to slowly drop her hand and swallow, her throat becoming extremely dry. He stood outside, with his left hand on the door, his body language unreadable as to whether he was going to get inside or not.

He did, after a dragging moment.

''What do you _want_, Max?'' He asked quietly, but enough for her to hear properly, as he looked down at his linked fingers. It was the first time he had addressed her by her first name, and it was also the first time she had heard him sounding... so defeated. It took her aback by surprise to an extent where she couldn't get a word out of herself.

All she could do was stare. Stare at his fingers, fidgeting against his skin, visibly nervous. Stare at his bouncing leg. Stare at his saddened profile, lips slightly trembling.

In that very moment, Max felt empathy towards the boy in front of her. He obviously was very aware of what he did, and regretted it; felt ashamed, even.

At least, it's what Max hoped.

Nathan covered his face with both hands, leaning forward in his seat, a hearable weary sigh escaping his mouth.

"You need help, Nathan," Max spoke quietly, looking at him with something close to worry. He didn't react, which didn't stop her from further speaking her mind. "You clearly have issues, as we all do, but what you're doing - hurting others - do you think it's right?"

Nathan didn't respond.

"Why did you take those pictures of Chloe? And did you also drug Kate?" She pressed the matter, finally causing a reaction of some sort from the male.

His chest was rising and falling rapidly in a manner where one is hyperventilating.

"Nathan?" She leaned closer in an attempt to see his face. She couldn't, but she could tell that he was crying.

"Everybody hates me," his words came out slurred and shaken, yet she could still make out their meaning. "_Everybody_."

Max was dumbfounded for a longer moment. She didn't know what to do, how to interpret this.

"Do you really blame them though?" She finally answered, leaning back into her seat, looking overhead at nothing in particular. "Look at the way you're acting. You treat everybody like shit, Nathan. If you alone say the name Nathan Prescott to a random person on the street, they'll spit onto the pavement in response."

"Get out of here, Max," he said through uneven breaths. "Just... _Leave me alone_."

"You're dangerous, Nathan," she reached for the handle with her right hand whilst still looking at the male. "To yourself as well as others. Do something about it," she exited the car, closing the door shut behind her. "Or you'll end up hurting yourself."

* * *

"Are you alright, Max?" Mark placed one of his hands on the door frame, blocking the entrance from the female. "You look worried. Is there anything on your mind?"

Max looked at him, taken aback. She nervously massaged her neck, and with the corner of her eye noticed that Nathan was inside the classroom, staring at her. Instantly, she looked away, feeling uneasy.

"Oh, no, Mr. Jefferson, I'm just… _super_ tired," she answered weakly, then cleared her throat in an attempt to regain confidence. "But thank you for asking. It's nice to know that at least some of the teachers here actually care about their students."

Jefferson laughed softly, but his expression soon turned into concern again. "I don't mean to be nosy, Max, but I've noticed you've been… hanging around Nathan Prescott lately."

Max almost choked on air.

"And I know it's not my business, but I'd never take you for the partying kinda gal," Mark continued, sending Max into a horrendous wave of embarrassment.

"I'm really not, Mr. Jefferson," she answered quickly, hugging her elbow closer to herself. "Gosh, I feel so embarrassed to even say this, but Nathan is just… helping me with some homework. I mean, _me_ and _Nathan Prescott_ partying? _No way_ that is happening. _Ever._"

Mark laughed.

She swallowed hard, cursing herself for having to lie to her idol. She wasn't sure herself why she did so in the first place. She could tell Mr. Jefferson about the whole Nathan situation... _right?_

"My bad, Max. Sorry for being paranoid. I just don't want you getting with the wrong crowd."

She shifted in her position.

"And I'm not saying Nathan Prescott _is_ the wrong crowd, but–"

"I get it, Mr. Jefferson," Max interrupted him, and opened her mouth to speak again, but his phone began to ring.

"Excuse me, Max," he looked at the screen and walked some distance away to answer.

She entered the classroom, finding both Nathan and Victoria sitting on her desk. The male was staring at her more intensively than usual.

"Oh, look, Nate, here's your precious twee artist girlfriend coming for you,'' Victoria nudged Nathan upon noticing the brunette approaching.

Max didn't say anything. Nathan didn't either.

"What's this? Trouble in paradise? _So soon_?" The blonde got up, crossing her arms as she looked from one to another with a disbelieving, humoured smirk. "Wow Nate, you _really_ have a talent for keeping a girl. But then again, I don't blame you," she looked Max up and down with a judging glare, smiling to herself.

Nathan stood up and walked straight past Max towards the exit.

"Um, Nate?" Victoria called after him, then crossed her arms with an annoyed expression. Max reached for the strap of her bag, setting it onto the desk. She felt the blonde's eyes on her, and when she looked - she was right; the girl was now staring at her inquisitively.

"What?" She asked sharply, her words almost a hiss of great impatience.

"Oh, _nothing_," Victoria unfolded her arms, her eyebrows no longer furrowed. "I was just wondering why somebody like Nathan would even care about someone like _you_, that's all," she replied with even more venom than usual before getting to her seat.

Max sat down with a deep sigh. _Fucking Nathan Prescott_. She exhaled quietly under her breath, expression angry and bitter. At least he backed off. _But at what cost?_

* * *

She froze in place, unable to process what was happening before her own eyes.

Everybody around her was talking, shouting, crying; all of them were witnessing the same thing she did.

But she heard none of them. She saw none of them.

All that she saw was the image of Kate Marsh falling from the rooftop, at a crushing speed.

It didn't happen in slow motion. It happened fast, too fast for her to even react.

Without control over her own body, her right hand lifted itself up, rewinding.

"Kate! NO!" Max shouted at the top of her lungs, rushing forward.

She fell.

Max rewound.

She fell again.

"Kate, _no_, Kate," she whimpered, defeated, whole body shaking.

She couldn't get through this. There was no way.

But she had to try. She_ had_ to.

She pushed somebody to the side to get through the crowd, but every step she took, had to be rewound. She already felt an immerse throbbing in her head. The ringing in her ears.

She couldn't rewind anymore.

She pushed herself to rewind once more, as if it were to change anything.

And suddenly she felt a sickening jab in her head, pain spreading throughout her entire body. Blood poured from her nose, but all she could think about was Kate. Kate, who needed her. She needed her to get up on that roof, and stop her.

And that was _exactly_ what she was going to do.

She slowly looked around. Her vision was blurry, but clear enough for her to see that she managed to stop time. It felt unreal.

She did it. But she definitely had no time to wonder how.

She pushed forward with great difficulty; sensation alike walking through water. One step alone took great energy from her. With each push, she felt weaker and weaker. She was scared shitless that her power would stop working any second now.

She wasn't going to let that happen. She couldn't…

Kate's life depended entirely on her.

Slowly, and painfully, Max made her way onto the rooftop. When she stepped through the door frame, and saw Kate, standing on the ledge; she felt her heart drop. One wrong move, and it would be over.

A sudden pop in her ears, and she heard the rain pour down hard onto the ground again.

She saw Kate move, she heard the wind.

_No, no, no, oh no no no no…_

She reached out to rewind, but a shocking pain in her head prevented her from doing so.

Involuntarily, she let out a groan escape from her mouth. Kate turned around, alarmed.

"What are you doing here, Nathan?" Kate asked through tears, angry.

Max immediately turned around, too, confused. When she saw Nathan standing in the doorway, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Have you come to take another video? Go ahead, it'll surely go even more viral than the last one when I jump,'' Kate took a step back, causing Max to take one forward.

"_Wait_! Kate! Please, _just_ listen to me," Max pleaded, tears falling down her face.

"Max, seriously, don't come near me, I _will_ jump," she warned, slightly moving her body sideways to show that she meant it.

"Okay, okay. I'm right here, Kate. Kate, please," Max put her hands up slightly, open palmed, meaning she meant no harm.

"Why did _you_ come up here? To gloat and see what your stupid video has done to me?" Kate asked furiously, staring right at Nathan. Max side-glanced at him. He didn't budge from his spot. He looked emptily at Kate, completely frozen.

Max wasn't sure how he got here, and definitely wasn't sure as to why he did so.

But it didn't matter.

Kate did.

"It doesn't matter now anyway," Kate continued. "Nothing matters…"

"You matter. And not just to me," Max was gesturing with her hands, pleadingly. "I mean, look at us, Kate. We've come here for you, _both of us_," she motioned over at Nathan.

"Yeah, right. Why would _Nathan_ want to stop me? He was the one who made this happen in the first place," Kate remained unmoved, getting angrier and angrier with each moment.

Max turned her head to look at Nathan, begging for his help. But he was in some sort of trance, and it didn't seem like he would be waking up from it soon. Max couldn't afford to wait.

"Kate–" Max tried to speak, but got suddenly interrupted.

"I'm sorry, Kate," Nathan abruptly spoke, his voice shaking and on the verge of breaking. "I'm _so so sorry_," he was undoubtedly crying, but the rain washed away his tears.

Max couldn't believe what she was seeing. What she was hearing. But it was happening, and she couldn't let it throw her off balance.

"Oh, you're _sorry_?" Kate raised her voice slightly, visibly outraged. "Sorry for what, Nathan? Slipping something in my water, or letting Victoria take that gross video of me and spread it online?"

"I-I… I never meant to hurt you… I just–" He stuttered with his words, looking at the ground, shaking.

"Kate," Max cut in, "What happened to you was horrible. But your life is still yours. And we can get through this together… Let me help," she slowly took a step forward, extending her hand.

Kate seemed to consider it.

Max kept on talking. She didn't stop, and wasn't going to stop. Her goal was to distract her enough for her to be able to reach her and safely pull her off the ledge.

"Please… you don't have to do this," Max reached out once again, nearly close enough to grab her. But not enough.

"Max, I'm in a nightmare and I can't wake up. Unless I put myself to sleep."

"Kate, don't do this shit," Nathan finally collected himself enough to be able to move from his spot, taking a couple of steps forward. When Kate shifted in her position, he stopped. He wasn't near as close to her as Max. "I know what it feels like to–"

"That's _bullshit_," Kate interrupted him.

"No, it's... it's not. Every day I wake up, and-and I wish I didn't. I live in a fucking damn hell with no way out, and every day it j-just gets worse, and worse. I-I would've done the same as you, but I'm a fucking pussy, Kate. So what you're doing right now... I wish _I_ was doing instead of you."

"_Nathan_–" Max cut in.

"_No_, Max, it's okay, let him speak," Kate interrupted.

Max didn't protest further, but furrowed her eyebrows in uncertainty, looking from one to another in search of reaction, terrified one wrong word could change everything.

"You don't deserve any of this shit, Kate. If there's one person who deserves to jump off that roof - it's nobody else but me."

The easiness with which he said it, made Max look at him with a spark of sympathy. She almost wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, but then the thought, the _realisation_ that all of this was happening _because_ of him - awoke her. She turned her attention back to Kate, even more determined to get her off that damn ledge.

"If... if what you're saying is true… Then… then _why_ did you do this to me, Nathan? If you knew how I felt…"

"Because I'm fucking _stupid_, Kate. I'm _so_ fucking_ stupid_… You don't deserve _any_ of the shit that's been happening to you… And I'm _so sorry_ for that. But if you come down," he took a couple of steps forward, matching Max's position without lifting his eyes from Kate's. "I'll-I'll fix _everything_... I'll make sure nobody gets hurt _ever_ again and–"

"But _how_ can you promise me that, Nathan? I'm already on the Internet forever. There's no way everybody will magically forget about it just like that."

"I'll... I'm Nathan fucking _Prescott_, Kate, I'll– my dad, he– he'll make sure it's gone for good and– and I'll… I'll tell everybody what _really_ happened at that party, Kate."

"You… would do that for me?" She asked, full of hope. "_No_, I don't believe you," she suddenly furrowed her eyebrows, angry. "You wouldn't do that because you'd get in trouble for drugging me… Why would you even do that, Nathan? What have I _ever_ done to you?"

"I– I swear, Kate, I never meant to hurt you, he just _kept_ _pushing_ and _pushing_–" Nathan grabbed his head, visibly losing it. "I _fucked up_, as always... but– I'll– I'll make sure it never happens again to anybody else, Kate. Please... please just… get down from there," he took another step forward eventually, reaching his hand out.

"You sound so persuasive, Nathan… If only…"

Max saw a chance, and she took it. She directed the attention back towards herself, and took charge of talking. She did everything she possibly could.

Would it be enough?

Kate seemed perplexed.

Nathan suddenly faced Max. "Give me your hand," he ordered.

The brunette looked at him, baffled. "What?"

"Just... fucking give it to me."

Max was annoyed with his strange request, but would do anything to save Kate. If it was going to help, she wouldn't protest.

Max lifted her right hand, reaching towards Nathan's outstretched left hand.

He gripped it firmly, and she did the same.

At first she didn't get it. But then, she _felt_ it.

It was very subtle, but it was there.

She furrowed her eyebrows, confused and frankly, amazed.

It was like a little flicker of electricity at first. But it began to slowly spread through her body, and she no longer felt the awful throbbing in her head. She knew she could rewind again.

She lifted her eyes from their hands to Nathan's face, with a surprised, but happy smile. He quickly looked away and outstretched his right hand towards Kate.

"You too, Kate," Nathan looked at her, much calmer. Max's heart seemed to slow down as well.

She slowly reached out, too, and took his hand.

Nathan immediately released Max's hand and pulled Kate towards himself, with the now free hand bringing her closer to his body. He crouched down, setting Kate onto the ground, not letting go of her. He exhaled loudly and cried with her, while all Max could do was watch.

She couldn't believe this.

She did it.

…They did it.


End file.
